


Alternate World

by Savanna (orphan_account)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blink And You Miss It Slash, Bucky Barnes & Shuri Friendship, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Bucky Barnes's Metal Arm, Character Study, M/M, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Short & Sweet, Steve Rogers Feels, based on a headcanon, bucky gets rid of his metal arm, steve questions being captain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2018-12-06
Packaged: 2019-09-12 15:01:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16875036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Savanna
Summary: "You ready to follow Captain America into the jaws of death?""Hell no. That little guy from Brooklyn who was too dumb to run away from a fight, I'm following him."Or, Bucky gets another new arm, and he and Steve have a little chat about their future.





	1. alternate world

_“Goodmorning, Sergeant Barnes.”_

_“Bucky,” he corrects. It isn’t out of rudeness, Shuri knows._

 

Bucky looks down at his arm, staring at it for a good while. He runs his hand over it, feeling the smooth skin under his fingertips. It’s strange to have _feeling_ there, to feel something when he pinches the skin.

“Buck?” Steve lightly taps on the door. “Can I come in?”

Bucky looks at the door, then down to his arm. “Yeah,” he says. “You can see it.”

 

_They hold out a box and open it. Inside, a metal arm with gold sits on a plush pillow. Bucky looks down at it, then up at them. So they want him to continue. He isn’t surprised, and he certainly isn’t against it. Shuri has been kind and hospitable, had taken his brain out of the blender and miraculously fixed it, and had let him stay. He’s more than willing to help the princess any way he can._

_It’s just that...well..._

_“Where’s the fight?” He asks._

_They give him all the information they have. It sounds like Doomsday, but he doesn’t argue. He walks with them, takes a shower and suits up, and lets Shuri put the arm on for him. As she’s fitting it into place, he watches her._

_He remembers asking Steve about Vision, the red man he saw at the airport. He asked how Vision was created, and Steve explained the best he could. Vision’s body was made entirely artificially, by stitching tissue together._

_As Bucky watches Shuri’s gaze flick over the arm, making sure it’s secure, he wonders if she’ll ever do something about it. Wakanda certainly has the technology for it. Bucky had thought about it before, especially when his mind still hadn’t been right, when that Zemo guy had flipped the switch with just a few words; he figured that having his metal arm gone and replaced would make him less dangerous, at least to a certain extent._

_“...Can you,” he says out loud, but stops and looks at her. He’s got her attention, and she won’t ever let something go until her curiosity is satisfied, so he continues. “Is there a possibility that you could make my arm grow back?” It sounds silly when he phrases it that way._

_Shuri gives him a look, searching for something in his eyes, then smiles. “I’m sure I could. Can you deal with this for one more fight, though?”_

_Bucky nods. They’ll need all the help they can get, he knows. But as soon as it’s over, he wants to be done._

 

Steve opens the door slowly and peaks inside. Bucky is still surprised by the beard. Steve looks down, and his expression changes when he sees the left arm. It’s real, muscles and skin and bone. Steve walks in cautiously, shutting the door behind him for a little privacy. He walks forward, practically hovers over him. “...She did a good job,” he says, in a voice that doesn’t let Bucky know what he’s thinking. “There’s hardly a scar.”

Bucky nods and looks down at it. He can’t help but run his hand over it, surprised that there’s feeling when his fingertips touch. He suddenly laughs, surprising them both. “Don’t let Shuri hear you say that.” He looks up at Steve and grins. “If it’s anything less than great, you’re doomed.”

Steve smiles knowingly. “She did _great_ ,” he corrects. He takes a seat next to him and lets out a long sigh. He’s silent for a few minutes.

Bucky remains quiet, letting Steve have time to think about it. After a few more minutes, Bucky clears his throat and says, “I know what you’re thinking.”

Steve smiles in that slightly shy way of his, the one Bucky loves. “You do?” Steve asks somewhat nervously.

“I did it to protect others. I was a soldier in world war two, I remember my training. I’ll be fine without it.”

Steve huffs, revealing that Bucky had been exactly right. “It wasn’t just a weapon. It protected you,” he reminds him, speaking softly. “...Just like Howard’s shield.”

Bucky nods. “I’m still a guy with super soldier in me, Steve.” Bucky looks down and traces the small scar on his inner arm. “I didn’t want any part of them,” he admits. “Even if it was altered by Shuri, it was still Hydra’s. I want to move on.” He shrugs. “I feel like I am, slowly.”

“Well, I can’t blame you.” Steve pats him on the back. “...What do you want to do now?”

“I don’t know,” Bucky says honestly. “I’m sure Shuri has something for me to do...I know changing an arm won’t change my life, but I’m done.”

“Done?” Steve echoes.

Bucky nods. He smiles, lopsided. “I don’t have any plans of fighting aliens again. Though, I suppose I’ll have to if that’s what you choose to do.”

Steve looks at him, eyes conveying something he can’t quite say in words. Well, something comes to mind, but he doesn’t want to make the moment cheesy.

However, Bucky says it for him. “‘Til the end of the line, pal. Right?”

“Right,” Steve whispers, and laughs when Bucky ruffles his hair.

 

_"You ready to follow Captain America into the jaws of death?"_

_"Hell no. That little guy from Brooklyn who was too dumb to run away from a fight, I'm following him."_

 

Bucky knows the others are going to want to look at his arm, so he stands up. Steve stands with him, and they head out into the hallway. As they walk, Bucky glances at Steve’s worn suit a few times. “Steve,” he says, and stops in the middle of the hallway.

Steve stops too and turns. “Yeah? Is your arm okay?”

“It’s fine.” He glances at the worn stripes of the suit, at the missing star. “Look, my opinion won’t change.” He hesitantly reaches out with his left arm, and sets it on Steve’s shoulder. “I’m following _you_ , alright? Not Captain America, not a private, not a captain.” Bucky tries to convey everything through the look he’s giving him. “That guy from Brooklyn. You.”

Steve understands from the look alone, but he nearly tears up at the words. Bucky gets it, knows neither of them needs to say anything more, so he puts his arm around Steve’s shoulders and leads him down the hallway. It’s a bit more difficult to get his arm around him now, compared to before the serum, but that’s okay.

_“Bucky,” he corrects._

_“How are you feeling?” Shuri asks._

_He smiles. “Good. Thank you.”_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title based off a song by Son Lux; the idea of the arm being recycled and not new comes from a headcanon of Shuri using a technique called "kintsugi" in which an item that gets broken is repaired with gold, a symbol meaning that the piece is more beautiful for being broken. it's just a headcanon and the Hydra arm was blasted in half by Tony's arc reactor, but I liked the idea of kintsugi so I went with it..
> 
> Son Lux has so many songs that work with Steve and Bucky, oof


	2. extra: why i chose the title

_Alternate world_  
_Alternate age_  
 _Alternate life_

I think that's self explanatory, right? (Their life was back in WWII, but they've both been moved to a different world (or time), are supposed to be old but are young, and their life is much different from what it would've been had they gone home after the war.)

 _we're magical_  
_We'll wake the dead from sleep_  
_Oh-oh, we'll shed our skin_  
_We'll walk the other side_  
_Oh-oh, we'll brace for it_  
_And conquer everything_

I loved this part, how it explains bringing everyone back from the snap, and how Steve and Bucky want to shed what the world has formed them into, how Steve questions being Captain America and Bucky is done being the Winter Soldier. They'll brace themselves against anything that they have to go through in the future, sticking together and getting through it like they always do.

_Tear me away from this fight_

So in this story, Bucky is done, done fighting. He says he'll go with Steve wherever, and he will even if that means fighting Hydra and aliens and whatever, but he's secretly pleading that Steve is done fighting too.

_Make what we believe  
Don't we make what we can?_

Simply put, they're making due with what they have. They're trying their best with the current situation, creating what they believe to be the best for them.


End file.
